i like Tara Labs RCA cables. the TL-101 have solid core conducters. a 1 meter pair costs $109. they're made right here in the U. S. A. in oregon. they sound pretty good to me. i'm not sure if you could buy an RCA cable that has a solid core conducter for less than that. if anybody knows of some that do, kindly let me know with a post. www.taralabs.com

First, you should definitely use balanced (XLR) interconnects where that is possible; I find that they offer superior sound quality, and you can use very cheap generic microphone cables as interconnects and get flawless performance every time. Buying some sort of "premium-quality" balanced cables is nonsense and not needed.The inherent superior shielding and low-noise characteristics of balanced interconnects allow runs of up to 100 meters or more with no problems, where unbalanced interconnects have the potential for all kinds of problems and should be limited to 6 feet.

If you must use unbalanced (RCA) interconnects, I suggest the Audioquest Diamondback interconnects, because they use a 3-wire floating shield configuration that provides very good performance compared to ordinary coaxial cables.

Subwoofers rarely come with any interconnect cables; the quality of the interconnect is not critical for them.

Excellent choice of equipment, by the way. I have a Bryston 3B-SST2 amplifier, and love it.

Optical audio connections are to be avoided, in my opinon; they do not perform well.

m-c-e wrote:

my setup

- b&w nautilus 803 Speakers

- bryston BP 20 preamp

- bryston 4B ST power amp

- musical fidelity V-DAC

- pangea P-100 external PSU for V-DAC

- audioquest dbs cv 6 speaker cable

- REL T9 subwoofer (buying this today. Will this come with all necessary cables etc?)

can quality of optical / SPDIF connect from computer to DAC have an impact overall quality? i already have what i would consider reasonable quality optical / SPDIF cables.

There is no need to purchase interconnects, your Rel T-9 comes with a set of Neutrik Speakon connectors. You are going to be very (!) pleased when you hear how the sound integrates seamlessly into your music. I found the quality of sound to be as fine as what I have read in the product reviews.

Am using the Rel as a 2.1 system for music, pairing it with Harbeth Compact 7 speakers and a LFD LE IV Signature amp. Cost was not a consideration for me when I purchased two sets of Chord cables for the speaker/amp combination. However, I don't see any need to obtain other then the Rel supplied Neutrik brand cables for my subwoofer as I am not expecting to be able to discern audible subtle nuances for that range of frequencies.

i am currently using transparent audio wave 100 speaker cables and would like to hear people's opinions on these vs a pair of audioquest dbs cv 6. i'm pretty happy with the transparent performance so far but window of opportunity to trade back for the audioquest is still open if i want it so would like to guage other opinions.

re balanced XLR interconnects: considering i listen to a lot of my music via lossless digital, and my V-DAC has no XLR output, is there any point running unbalanced RCA from V-DAC to preamp then balanced XLR from preamp to power amp? I'm thinking it's a waste of time but have received differing opinions from audio gurus on the matter. any thoughts?

thanks for the compliments on my setup. i am very happy with the performance. the sound separation is amazing. i'ven ever experienced anything quite like it. was sitting on the couch last night watching the footy and guns n roses knockin on heaven's door came on it was unbelieveable. it was if the band was playing the song right in front of me i could visualize each instrument and almost see the band playing in front of me without even closing my eyes..

i am yet to add the REL T9. have the cash sitting in my wallet but still undecided as to whether it is a necessity or not. i would purchase in a heartbeat if i had the option of returning if it didn't improve my current sound however best audio dealer can offer is a store credit and i can't think of anything else i need to spend $1300 on if i don't end up wanting / needing it. i'm tempted to gto and pick it up after work today but would be disappointed with mysself if i blew $1300 unnecessarily. thoughts?